English AbstractThe dietary exposure to caramel (E150) food colours can be more accurately assessed using data on use levels obtained from the food industry. The National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) drew this conclusion based on a study in which the total dietary exposure to E150a, E150b, E150c and E150d was estimated by applying use levels provided by the food industry. Previously, exposure to E150 was estimated using maximum use levels linked to aggregated food categories (e.g. all beers, including blond beer, were assumed to contain the maximum reported use level of dark beer), which results in overestimates of exposure. Collection of use levels of foods present on the Dutch market allows refined linkage of these concentrations to foods on the food group level (e.g. use levels of kidney bean soup were linked to the consumption of 'legume soup' instead of to all foods belonging to the food category 'soups and broths') or even on food level (e.g. use levels of 'speculaas' were linked to the consumption of this food instead of all foods belonging to the food category 'fine bakery wares'). When refining the exposure assessment in this way using food consumption data from the Dutch National Food Consumption Survey (DNFCS) 2007-2010, a lower and more realistic exposure estimate for E150 was obtained for the adult population aged 17-30 years compared with a recent EFSA exposure assessment. For children aged 2-6 years (DNFCS-young children), the exposure estimate was comparable to that obtained by EFSA.

The study was performed on the initiative of the Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport (VWS) and the Federation of the Dutch Food and Grocery Industry (FNLI), in order to develop a risk-based monitoring system as requested in EU Regulations EU 1332/2008 (food enzymes), 1333/2008 (food additives) and 1334/2008 (flavourings). The cooperation between risk managers, exposure assessors and the food industry results in a win-winsituation for all parties by 1) providing a cost-effective approach for risk managers, 2) providing exposure assessors a reliable and representative data set and 3) providing a realistic estimate, which is important for both the government and the industry. The monitoring system may be used to assess exposure levels of additives and flavourings in other European Member States. It is recommended to explore the use of the monitoring system in the other Member States.